Vehicle powertrain systems are being designed to increase fuel economy and reduce carbon emissions. Hybrid engines are being incorporated into many vehicles to accomplish these tasks. Unfortunately, the market is currently rejecting many hybrid vehicle models because the vehicles provide little return on investment. Particularly, many of these models incorporate recovered energy systems. Recovered energy systems are difficult and expensive to integrate into the vehicle. As a result, the costs of hybrid vehicles are significantly higher than the cost of an equivalent non-hybrid make and model. Additionally, hybrid systems are difficult to maintain, which further increases the costs associated with owning a hybrid. The expenses associated with purchasing and maintaining a hybrid vehicle typically arc not offset by the reduction of fuel costs associated with the increased fuel economy of the hybrid vehicle,
There are several possible energy sources within a. vehicle, Fuel energy and low voltage energy systems are the most common sources of energy to power the vehicle. However, these sources increase the fuel consumption of the vehicle. Currently, the automotive industry is shifting away from relying on fuel energy to accomplish increased fuel economy. Recovered energy systems, as described above, effectively reduce fuel consumption, but do so at an increased cost of manufacturing and maintenance. An additional source of power within the vehicle comes from the kinetic and potential energy of the vehicle, i.e. energy created by the rotation of the vehicle's wheels when power from the transmission is not being applied to the wheels. Most vehicles fail to capture the kinetic and potential energy of the vehicle and this energy generally goes to waste.